Chris Jans on his contract extension at Mississippi State: 'They're going to expect us to win more'

Mississippi State extended Chris Jans as their head men’s basketball coach this offseason after two seasons in Starkville. Now, after those pair of years earned him that reward, he knows that it represents an investment toward more for the Bulldogs in the future.

Jans discussed his new deal during a media session this week on Wednesday. He said that, with his signature on those papers, the goals have now taken a step up. That’s the case even though he remains incredibly grateful for his opportunity with their program.

“I think they are going to expect us to win more,” said Jans. “In all seriousness, just feels great to have the support, like you mentioned, from Dr. Keenum and the powers to be. Certainly, athletic director Zac Selmon had a lot to do with it. We are very, very appreciative and excited to be here and to continue to build upon what we started.”

However, with Jans set to remain in place there through at least the next four seasons, there’s now another level of security at Mississippi State that should only help them try to meet those expectations.

“It definitely helps with recruiting. It helps just for the staff. More than excited that, you know, they get more reassurance and stability,” said Jans. “I just think it helps the program overall when things like that happen.”

Jans arrived at Mississippi State in March of 2022 after a five-year run at New Mexico State. Since then, he has posted a record of 42-27 (.609). The 42 victories are the most among any coach in school history over their first two seasons.

21 wins, including eight in the SEC, apiece have been enough for two berths in the NCAA Tournament. Neither have gone past their opening game in the dance in the First Four or Round of 64 respectively. Even so, it’s still their first consecutive appearances within the field in 15 years since 2008 and 2009.

Many of those accomplishments have checked boxes of what Jans and the Bulldogs wanted to do, especially in regards to the postseason. There’s obviously more to be done, though, as they’ll now look to do more from now through 2028.

“You harken back to when we got here. That’s what we said we were going to do. We were going to make the NCAA Tournament. We were going to build teams each and every year with the goal of being a perennial NCAA Tournament, at-large program. And, fortunately, we have been able to do that,” said Jans.

“Certainly, we are not satisfied. The early exits are not the plan,” Jans admitted. “We raised our goals last year as a program for the first time for me, for any program I’ve ever been in as a head coach in terms of what the end goal was for our team. We fell short of that and we will continue to raise those goals that we have, that we basically keep to ourselves in our locker room.”

Jans has done quality work over two seasons on The Hump and earned himself a nice raise because of it. Still, it’s just the foundation of what they want to do for the rest of the decade as his tenure continues at Mississippi State.